Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. faced a three-hour ambush during a House Education and Workforce Committee budget hearing on Friday, when Democratic lawmakers pivoted from financial oversight to demand he invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.
Rep. Mark Takano directly challenged Kennedy, asking if he would “insist that Trump undergo an assessment of his mental fitness and emotional stability.” Kennedy responded with two words: “Absolutely not,” followed by a declaration that President Trump was “very, very sane.” The exchange triggered immediate backlash in the chamber as Democrats shifted focus to vaccines.
Rep. Linda Sanchez accused Kennedy of undermining CDC vaccination efforts amid U.S. measles outbreaks, citing deaths of two children in Texas. Kennedy acknowledged the measles vaccine is “safe for most people” and admitted unvaccinated children could have been saved—while defending communities that reject vaccines as being “treated as pariahs.” He also revealed over 36,000 doctors faced Medicare reimbursement cuts tied to childhood vaccination rates.
Kennedy further criticized a Danish study linking prenatal Tylenol use to autism, calling its conclusions “garbage in, garbage out” and demanding retraction. During the hearing, he grew visibly agitated by Democrats’ interruptions, stating: “They’ve all shut me up.” The session concluded with Kennedy testifying that measles vaccines are safer than contracting the disease itself—a reversal from his earlier stance on vaccine safety.
The hearing unfolded amid President Trump’s plans to nominate Dr. Erica Schwartz, a pro-vaccine physician, as CDC director. Critics described the committee’s approach as a political theater where legitimate budget questions were overshadowed by a campaign to score points on presidential removal, vaccine policy, and gun violence.